SkyClan's Destiny/Chapter 4
Chapter description :It is a few days after the snowfall. Leafstar is padding up the gorge, when a twig sails into the air from the cliff face, and clatters onto the ground by the leader's paws. A voice above her yowls that it's a snake, and Leafstar looks up to see Harveymoon and Macgyver, two daylight warriors, on a ledge outside the fourth of the new caves, which had not yet been cleaned. Macgyver scoops up a pawful of dry moss and throws it at Harveymoon. The white tom leaps on Macgyver. Leafstar is annoyed at how immature they are acting, and joins them on the ledge to scold them and ask what they are doing. :Before either can reply, Sharpclaw emerges from the cave, telling his leader that he had to put up with this all morning. He turns to the two warriors, saying that they are being disloyal, playing while everyone else worked. Harveymoon points out that they wouldn't sleep in the cave, so it wouldn't concern them and even Macgyver is surprised at such a rude remark. The deputy hisses angrily. Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw appear at the mouth of the cave, and Leafstar sees Rockshade and Sparrowpelt behind them. Realizing that every cat was waiting for her to act, she tells Macgyver and Harveymoon that Clan cats don't fool around while their Clanmates are working, and that warriors treat each other with respect. She banishes both until the next full moon. :Macgyver and Harveymoon apologize and ask to be let back into the Clan, but Leafstar refuses to their pleas. As the two cats scramble down the cliff face and head toward the Rockpile with their heads bowed and tails drooping, Leafstar wonders if she made the right decision by allowing kittypets into the Clan. She wonders if they might have been the “greater storm” that the cat from her dream had mentioned, but then thinks that two flea-brained toms didn’t deserve their own prophecy. :Before Harveymoon and Macgyver even leave camp, they meet Cherrytail and Bouncefire. When Cherrytail asks what happened, the two explain that they were fooling around, and have been temporarily banished from the camp. Cherrytail replies that if they were fooling around, then they must have deserved it, and Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw agree. More cats, including Billystorm, Snookpaw, Tinycloud, and Shrewtooth come to the ledge to watch the two daylight-warriors leave. Tinycloud sadly murmurs that there won't be as many warriors to fill the fresh-kill pile, and Billystorm and Snookpaw agree. Rockshade counters that there wouldn't be as many mouths to feed either, and that the two never brought prey anyways. Shrewtooth voices worries about if enemies came, there wouldn't be enough warriors to fight them off. Rockshade rolls his eyes, saying that there aren't any enemies. Leafstar's heart grow heavy as she hears her Clanmates argue, and worries if her Clan will ever learn to work together. :Sharpclaw interrupts her thoughts, thanking his leader for supporting him, and complimenting that she did the right choice. Leafstar surprises both of them by snapping at him, saying that she didn’t do it for his sake and that the problem isn’t over. She then heads down into the gorge and meets Cherrytail and Bouncefire, who are looking for Billystorm and Snookpaw for their patrol. Leafstar informs them that they're in the caves, and Cherrytail asks if they should patrol or hunt, not that Harveymoon and Macgyver were gone. Leafstar thinks of the tiny fresh-kill pile, and allows them to hunt. She thinks that at the time, it feels like all of SkyClan’s problems are inside its borders. :Leafstar leaves Cherrytail and heads for the elders' den. Just before she enters, she sees Sagepaw and asks the apprentice if he will help Sharpclaw with the caves. Sagepaw voices his disappointment that he can't check the elders for fleas, and when his leader is surprised at why, he answers that Tangle had been telling a good story. Leafstar tells him that he will be plenty of chances to listen to Tangle, and that he should go help the deputy. Sagepaw dips his head and heads toward the caves, as Leafstar pads up the trail to the elders' den, meowing a greeting to the elders. :Tangle asks where Sagepaw is, complaining that he should have checked his fleas. Leafstar offers to do the elders fleas herself, and Lichenfur sharply notes that she didn't know that Clan leaders searched elders' pelts for fleas. Leafstar mildly responds that she wouldn’t asks her cats to do something she couldn't do herself. She mentions that she doesn't know what other Clan leaders did, but that she could leave if Lichenfur wanted fleas in her pelt. The elder grudgingly agree, and Lichenfur asks what happened with the kittypets leaving. Leafstar is surprised that they knew, and asks how they knew: Tangle answers that Petalnose had told them. Leafstar admits her doubts about her choice. Tangle tells the SkyClan leader that whatever she does, she will have to be strong, as the path SkyClan walked would be shadowed, and she was the one leading them. Lichenfur snorts that she doesn't want a blind leader. :Leafstar tenses at the hostility in her Clanmate's voice, but Tangle assures her not to be bothered, since Lichenfur sat on a thistle last night. The cream-and-brown she-cat is warmed by the support, but secretly wonders who else believes she's just a blind leader. She leaves the two old cats, turning to make her way over to Echosong's den. Leafstar feels relieved at the thought of discussing Harveymoon and Macgyver with her medicine cat. She barely walks a few paw steps before hearing the sound of scrabbling, with grit and debris falling down a ledge. A wail rips the air, and Leafstar notices Sagepaw dangling from a ledge, calling for help. Characters Major }} Minor *Macgyver *Sharpclaw *Ebonyclaw *Frecklepaw *Rockshade *Sparrowpelt *Cherrytail *Bouncefire }} Mentioned *Waspwhisker *Mintpaw *Sagepaw *Tangle *Brackenheart (Unnamed) }} Notes and references Category:Chapter subpages Category:SkyClan's Destiny Category:Super Edition arc